January 18: The government failed to meet the revenue collection target at Birgunj customs, which is the largest border checkpoint of Nepal based on the volume of import and export. The Birgunj Customs Office did not meet the target set in the first six months of the current Fiscal Year (FY) 2077/78.

The customs office has collected 86 percent of the target revenue between mid-July to mid-December of the current fiscal year. According to customs officer Ramesh Sukmani, a total revenue of Rs 73.55 billion has been collected in the last six months.

The Birgunj Customs had set a target to collect revenue of Rs 85.51 billion. The revenue collection so far this year is Rs 12 billion less than the corresponding  period of last FY 2076/77.

According to Sukmani, the customs office has not been able to collect revenue as per the target due to the impact of coronavirus on the import, production and supply chain. "Even in such an uncomfortable situation, raising such a large amount of revenue in six months should be considered an achievement," he said.

The customs office has said that the revenue will improve in the coming months as the import and export from Birgunj is gradually returning to normal.

The customs has collected Rs 28 billion from import duty in the first six months of the current year. Likewise, Rs 7.2 million revenue has been collected from export. Value added tax of Rs 25.44 billion has also been collected. Likewise, the customs office has collected Rs 8.66 billion in excise duty, Rs 6.88 billion in infrastructure tax on petroleum products and Rs 3.83 billion on road construction and road improvement charge.

The customs office claims that the decline in imports of goods that contribute to the revenue this year has had an impact on revenue collection. According to the customs office data, the import of both vehicles and petroleum products, which are considered the main source of revenue, has declined. Customs officials say that import of industrial raw materials has also declined.